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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

University of Hong Kong whistle-blower Billy Fung tries to ride out storm over council revelations

Branded a liar with no integrity after disclosing details of a closed-door HKU council meeting, student leader Billy Fung says he has no regrets

After joining teachers and classmates at a silent march on campus to defend the autonomy of his university last week, Billy Fung Jing-en returned to the student union office, where he spends most of the time these days, looking tired.

The 21-year-old president of the University of Hong Kong Student Union says he has a lot of follow-up work to do after hitting the headlines for exposing the reasons behind the governing council's controversial decision to reject a liberal professor's candidacy for a key managerial post.

In disputing the contents of Fung's leak, those whose remarks were allegedly exposed by him have branded Fung a "liar", saying he was "bad in English" and accusing him of "having no integrity". To which Fung shrugs his shoulders and says: "I did what I thought was right."

READ MORE: Johannes Chan's appointment never discussed with HKU chief, says Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung

Fung was already a controversial figure when he ran for the union presidency at the start of the year, after it was revealed he had a grandfather in the Communist Party. In Hong Kong's heated political climate, student elections are also full of concerns over whether the candidates will defend the city's core values.

"I haven't been to Beijing for a long time," Fung insists. "At that time I didn't even know my grandpa was in the CCP. I only knew he was a doctor. We seldom talk about politics. It's not like his political affiliation has a bearing on me."

Fung joined Chairman of the Academic Staff Association Dr William Cheung Sing-wai and lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen to demand answers over Johannes Chan's non-appointment. Photo: Felix Wong

During the election, having returned to campus from the Occupy protest site in Admiralty, Fung expected retaliation against key organisers in last year's pro-democracy sit-ins - including a founder who taught at HKU - but did not imagine the university as the next political arena.

His decision to disclose details of the confidential university council proceedings was not one made out of impulse but was well thought-out, he says.

It dates back to the storming of a closed-door council meeting in July, when Fung let fellow students break into the meeting after the body voted to defer discussion on Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun's appointment as a HKU pro-vice-chancellor. Students, staff and pan-democrats see the council's machinations as politically motivated.

However, while Fung insisted there was no other way to express their dissatisfaction to council members, the action drew little sympathy from teachers or the public. "After the storming, we calmed down and consolidated our thoughts. We thought: why is our anger not understood, not even by students?" he says.

Due to strict confidentiality, the issue of Chan's appointment had remained hard for students to follow. So Fung decided "the only way to make them understand is to expose the ridiculousness inside, and protect their right to know".

Fung sparked a public outcry when he revealed the reasons given by council members for rejecting the former law dean. These ranged from Chan having no PhD and his unimpressive publication record on Google Scholar, to his failure to "show sympathy" to a fellow council member who collapsed during the students' storming.

While international scholars lined up to defend Chan's qualifications, the exposé was condemned by council chairman Leong Che-hung, who has warned of sanctions against the student leader. Fung says he will not quit the council.

"I was afraid before I did that," Fung admits, because the rules did not mention the consequences of breaching confidentiality. "I thought, would I be kicked out of school? But then our legal advice said this would not be an option. I also told my mum of my decision before the meeting, as she had been very upset at the storming."

Fung lays a flower in front of the Pillar of Shame erected on the HKU campus in memory of those who died in the June 4th Tiananmen incident ahead of the 26th anniversary of the crackdown. Photo: Nora Tam

In the meantime, Fung is working with union colleagues on a referendum planned for February, in which students will vote on whether and how the governing council should be reformed to rid it of political influence. The union will first hold a "deliberation day" next month - like those held by Occupy movement last year to discuss options for political reform.

"We can't win the game under the present system," says Fung. "Changing the university ordinance is the only way out. But when we demand reform, we can't fight empty-handed - the student union must have a solid research report to back itself up."

The politics and Chinese language student has been burying his head in research to find out how foreign universities deal with similar situations. While his colleagues focus on British and American institutions, he is looking at examples in Taiwan, because universities there have experienced oppression of academic freedom in the past.

But Fung is aware that amending any ordinance in Hong Kong will not be easy because of the legislature's pro-establishment majority.

"We're not going to succeed in my term," Fung, who steps down early next year, concedes. "But who knows, maybe in a few years? Times change and there may be an opportunity for our successors. If we don't prepare now, any chance will be lost."

READ MORE: Hong Kong student leaders: 'political rewards' spurred appointment of anti-Occupy lawyers and Beijing adviser to university's top body

Angry council members have warned Fung he might not be able to get a decent job in future, especially with a big company. "I know there's some trade off," he acknowledges, adding that he is not interested in the business field and wants to become a schoolteacher.

"I like to see change in people, and it's a wonderful feeling to see how you make an impact on young minds and see them grow," says Fung, who was inspired by his "open-minded" secondary teachers. He also had a "memorable experience" tutoring for Form Seven pupils striving to get into university.

We can't win the game under the present system
Billy Fung

Fung's deputy, Ho Ka-yin, says he is always willing to listen. "He is definitely not a dictator. He thinks things through before making a decision, including the one to divulge the council discussions. He did a lot of thinking and decided he could shoulder the responsibility," Ho says. "We feel grateful to him, as he has put his own reputation and future prospects at stake."

But Fung also has a "temper" and may not care to polish his words in discussions when he takes issues to heart, Ho adds.

Ip Kin-yuen, convenor of an alumni concern group who has worked with Fung in recent campaigns for institutional autonomy, says Fung has "made big progress" in leadership.

"Billy has a strong sense of right and wrong. I think he improved his strategy since storming the council," Ip says. "He saw the public response to that was not good and he quickly changed to another strategy. He is willing to shoulder the consequences. In this sense, he is quite mature."

 

BILLY FUNG

21

Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College; Third-year arts student with a double major in Chinese and politics, University of Hong Kong

External vice-chairman, Arts Association, HKU Student Union, 2014; President, HKU Student Union, 2015

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Whistle-blower tries to ride out the storm
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